Vehicle-wheel.



No. 842,488. PATB TED JAmzg, 1907.

J.-H. ODANIEL.

VEHICLE WHEEL. APPLICATION FILED MAR.26, 1906.

' ATTORNEYS.

. desired kind of tire 7.

nnrrn srarns PATENT OFFICE.

VEHICLE-WHEELn Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Jan. 29. 1907.

' Application filed March 26,1906. Serial .30 807,981.

1'0 all whomit may concern:

Be it known that 1, J onN H. ODANIEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at C0- lumbus, in-the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Vehicle-Wheels, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a wheel for vehicles, and has for its object the provision of a device of this character which will be durable and which will possess great resiliency Without the employment of pneumatic tires.

.[t is a well-known fact that the liability of pneumatic tires to puncture causes much annoyance and delay and in some instances causes serious accidents.

it is a further object of the present invention t) provide a wheel which will give when passing obstacles-in a road-bed to as great or greater an ex tent than a wheel equipped with a pneumatic tire, while at the same time pre senting a nou-puncturable rim to the roadbed.

A further ol ject oi' theinvention is the provision of a wheel having a plurality of bowed resilient spring-steel spokes, the ends of which are COl'lDiQHHi t the rim and hub of the Wheel in sub manner as to permit the hub to give with relation to the rim.

Further objects and advantages, of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which no w follows.

in the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a wheel constructed in accord ance with the invention, with certain of the parts broken away to more clcarlyillustrate the construction thereof. Fig. 2 is a partial vertical section upon line w a: of Fig. l, and Fig. 3 is section through the rim of the wheel upon line y y of Fig. 1.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 5 designates the rim of the wheel, which may be grooved, as at 6, for the reception of any This tire may be formed of solid rubbeiwor of wood or of metal to meet the requirements of the particular The hub 12 of the wheel is provided with a pair of annular flanges 13. Bolts 14 pass through these flanges and have nuts 15 threaded upon their ends. These bolts pass through U-shaped yokes 16, which are riveted, as at 17, upon the inner ends of the spokes 9. As is best illustrated in Fig. 1, these spokes are thicker at their outer ends than at their inner ends, and the inner ends of the spokes are secured tangentially in the hub. The yokes 16 are not clamped so 'lirmly upon the bolts 14 as to cause said bolts to turn whensaid yokes move, as the spokes assume diil'erent positions under the stress of the load, but are pivoted'upon said bolts. By

virtue of this construction movement is perinitted the inner ends of the spokes in the hub. It has been found that where spokes of this character have been rigidly secured within the hub the constant back-and-forth movementofithe spokes at the point where theyrara gripped by the hub soon causes the spokes toibi eak oil. lerrin'g to Fig. 2 that the width of the spokes is substantially the width of the space between the llanges 13 and that.the edges of said spokes have a bearing against the inner faces of saidilanges. This bra es the spokes laterally. The side walls 18-01 he recesses 8 brace the outer ends of the spok s laterally This bracing against lateral movement of the parts with relation to each other 18 an important feature of these devices, for it will be understood that in rounding curves sharply, where the tendency of the wheel is to skid, there is a tendency of the hub to move bodily sidewise with relation to the rim. The bracing of the parts provided by the flanges 13 and the walls of the recesses 18 effectually prevents said lateral movement, though leaving the parts perfectly free to move in the normal manner.

While the structure herein shown and described provides a resilient wheelto serve the purposes of the ordinary pneumatic tire, it possesses an equally important advantage by providing a structure which permits a limited rotative movement of the axle and hub with relation to the rim. When wheels ol this character are used upon automobiles and the usual clutch mechanism between the engine and the driving-wheels is tln'own into action, the hub may have a partial rotation with relation to .the rim by virtue of the manner in which the inner ends of the spokes are pivoted in said hub. This initial move- It will be seen by re-.

' construction any wear uponthe edges of the ment of the hub of course places the springgradual movement instead of with a jerk. It

is the sudden jerk imparted to the driving mechanism upon starting a vehicle of this character that causes the breakage of the connections between the engine and the driving-wheels. This sudden starting of the machine also subjects .the engine itself to severe strains. The gradual startrendered possible by the use of a wheel of this character prevents breakage of the axle, the sprockets, the driving-.chains,or the stripping of gear-teeth in-the transmission-gear. It likewise prevents breakage of the connecting-rods and relieves the ,engine'itself of a large portion of the strain. Y

By referringto Fig. 2 of the drawings it will be seen that the left-hand flange 13 is separate from the hub 12. By virtue of this spokes 9 may be taken up by tightening the nuts 15.. This is an important feature where almost constant movement of the inner ends of the s okes with relation to the inner faces of the anges is present. The wheel herein shown and described is constructed in such manner that one of the spokes thereof may be removed without disturbing any of the other spokes of the wheel. Thisrenders it possible when the device is used for automobiles for the operator to insert anew spoke if one-of the spokes of a wheel should become broken upon the road and without the aid of any tool other than. an ordinary wrench.

The wheel herein shown and described provides a structure of great strength and is adapted for use upon any kind of vehicle.

For light runabouts 'or buggies light springs will of course beused, while for automobiles orother heavy vehicles correspondingly heavy springs will be used. The resiliency of this wheel may be adjusted 'by varying the strength of the springs, as will be readily understood. While the elements shown and described are well adapted to serve the purposes for which they are intended, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the i precise construction set forth, but includes I within its purview such changes as may be made within the scope of the appended I claims. I What I claim is l 1. In a vehicle-wheel, the combination with a rim having a plurality of shallow recesses formed therein, a hub, aplurality of bowed s ring-spokes the outer ends of which are thick inner ends of said spokes being pivoted tangentially in said hub and the outer ends of said spokes resting in the recesses of the rim, the extreme ends of the spokes resting against shoulders formed by the walls of the ends of the recesses.

2. In a vehicle-wheel, the combination with a rim having a plurality of shallow recesses formed therein, a hub, a plurality of bowed s ring-spokes the outer ends of which are thicl zer than the inner ends thereof, the inner ends of said spokes being pivoted tangentially in said: hub and the outer ends of said spokes resting in the recesses of the rim, the extreme ends of the spokes resting against shoulders formed by the walls of the ends of the recesses, the hub comprising a pair of upstanding flanges, and means for adjusting one of said flanges toward and from the other of said flanges.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN H. ODANIEL.

er than the inner e d: thereof, the 

